Jai Courtney Talks Being Captain Boomerang in ‘Suicide Squad’

2016 is poised to be a major year for Warner Bros. Pictures as they get ready to open the ranks of their DC Comics-based films to include characters other than the publisher’s two major icons. While Batman and Superman will be front-and-center in next March’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, that film alone will also feature other characters like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and probably more than we even know about. Then, a little less than five months later, they will release Suicide Squad: a film focused on villains and anti-heroes with many characters never committed to live-action cinema before, like Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Enchantress, and Rick Flag.

Another character that will be featured in the film is Captain Boomerang, aka George “Digger” Harkness. Captain Boomerang is one of the infamous “Rogues” that often square off against DC’s Scarlet Speedster, the Flash, and he will be appearing as a member of the Squad portrayed by Australian actor Jai Courtney — all the more appropriate since Harkness himself is an Australian character.

Another franchise that Courtney is attached to is the Divergent series, which just premiered The Divergent Series: Insurgent on Monday. Variety caught up with the actor, and was asked about his upcoming role in Suicide Squad. It’s easy to see from his answers that he is both excited and protective of his new project. His work extends to more than just memorizing lines, too, as the already fit actor says he’s been hitting the gym.

I’ve been training for three months in different martial arts. As you can imagine for that superhero world, the athletic expectations are rather high.

Courtney also said that he’s excited to be working with his fellow cast members, which include the likes of Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, and Jared Leto as the Joker. Another reason he has to get excited is the fact that he doesn’t have to put on another accent.

I can’t reveal anything about the plot. I’m working with a great cast. It’s a wonderful group, and I’m really pumped to be working among them. […] I play an Aussie, which is going to be really fun.

Courtney also said that the film, which is preparing to begin active production, will be grounded in the same visual language as Ayer’s previous film Fury — which Courtney really admires — while also embracing the fact that it is a comic book movie being released in the summer season.

It’s going to be a huge action film, very visual, but grounded in the characters.

Suicide Squad will be the third film in Warner Bros.’ developing DC Comics-based cinematic universe, after 2013’s Man of Steel and next year’s aforementioned Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It will be released in theaters on August 5th, 2016. For more on it as it develops, keep an eye on GeekNation!